Dissections

A gift given to me on Christmas (2007): Gallstones come in two "flavors": cholesterol or pigment stones. The gallstones depicted here are cholesterol stones due to certain properties on x-ray and their dominant color of yellow. Pigment stones are darker in color and contain bilirubin and calcium salts (which are both found in bile). The liver and gall bladder have regeneration properties. If a gall bladder is surgically removed, it is possible (but unlikely) for the patient to grow a new gall bladder and develop gallstones again. Gallstones are caused by various factors including body weight, body chemistry, and diet.

This is the radius (forearm) of a male cadaveric specimen with no records. There was an obvious protrustion of bone, which mimics pathological bone disease. Radiological examination revealed lead particles embedded in the bone and surrounding tissue from a gunshot wound that did not receive proper medical treatment. The bullet shattered the radius and the person, in their living state, did get the bone “set” back into place. The body’s healing process created this bony outgrowth to maintain stability of the structure.

This is the radiographic image of the cadaveric specimen of the gun shot trauma shown in the image prior labeled "Gun Shot Trauma". The red arrows were photo-shopped in to highlight the radio-opaque lead artifacts embedded in the bone and muscle tissue. (Acknowledgment for assisting with x-ray: Dr. Aaron Welk, DC).﻿

A Baker's cyst (popliteal cyst) is located behind the knee and is a swelling of the popliteal bursa. In this image, the Baker's cyst is the yellowish tissue and was discovered during routine dissection. The pathological condition is usually benign and is not surgically excised unless it becomes symptomatic.

Dissection is an art which is similar to wood carving. The image depicts the posterior triangle of the neck. The majority of dissection is the tedious removal of superfluous adipose tissue (fat) filling in the gaps between muscle, nerves, and blood vessels. The posterior triangle is located between the ear lobe to the clavicle (collar bone) and contains many nerves and blood vessels critical to upper extremity, diaphragm, and back muscles.

Variations of heart sizes are due to different pathological processes. The heart in the center is a normal sized heart which approximates about the size of one’s fist. The larger heart depicts heart disease and was removed from an obese smoker. Originally used to describe electrical resistance, Poiseuille’s law dictates that viscosity of fluid, length, and radius of tubing contributes to resistance (in this case of the heart). The greatest contributor to the increase of heart size is radius of tubing. Nicotine, a vasoconstrictor decreases the radius of blood vessels by half which increases the resistance of the heart by sixteen times! This is why 100% of smokers will develop heart disease if they live long enough. For every pound of adipose (3,500 calories) there are 200 miles of blood vessels. The increase tube length will proportionally increase resistance of the heart which is why there is a direct correlation between heart disease and obesity. The following is Poiseuille’s law: R = (8ɳΔx)/(лr^4).